Acclaimed playwright Danai Gurira (In The Continuum) returns to Chicago with her newest work, The Convert, directed by Emily Mann.
A world-premiere co-production with McCarter Theatre Center (Princeton, NJ, where Mann is in her 22nd season as artistic director) and Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles, CA, which commissioned the play), The Convert is the first of Gurira’s cycle about Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwean identity. The seven-person cast includes Pascale Armand (Eclipsed at Yale Repertory Theatre) in the title role, as Jekesai/Ester; Cheryl Lynn Bruce (The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove) as Mai Tamba; Zainab Jah (In Darfur at The Public Theater) as Prudence; Kevin Mambo (Ruined) as Chancellor; LeRoy McClain (Cymbeline on Broadway) as Chilford; Warner Joseph Miller (The Brothers Size at Seattle Repertory Theatre) as Tamba; and Harold Surratt (Serious Money on Broadway) as Uncle.
The world premiere co-production of The Convert appears in the Goodman’s Owen Theatre February 25 – March 25, 2012 (Opening Night is March 5), following its four-week run at McCarter. Tickets ($12 – $42; subject to change) can be purchased at GoodmanTheatre.org, by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 North Dearborn). Following the Chicago engagement, The Convert continues to Center Theatre Group, April 17 – May 13, 2012.
Visit CenterTheatreGroup.org for details. Sara Lee Foundation is the Owen Season Sponsor. Principal Support of Artistic Development and Diversity Initiatives is provided by The Joyce Foundation. The Convert received an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award for its premiere at McCarter Theatre Center.
“Danai is a thrilling new voice in the American theater; her incisive, riveting In The Continuum left a lasting impression on Chicago when we produced it in 2007,” said Artistic Director Robert Falls. “I’m excited to welcome her back, as well as to collaborate with Emily Mann—one of America’s top-tier playwrights, directors and adaptors whose work I’ve admired for more than two decades. The Goodman is proud to produce this important new play together with two wonderful partner theaters, McCarter Theatre Center and Center Theatre Group.”
